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Interesting to see Formosa fall into the lap of the Revolution. Perhaps in the future it can be used as a base from which to project Synditern power into the Far East.

Sad news from Russia, I hope Bukharin is able to put up some opposition to the new tyranny.

In America things seem to be going reasonably well.

Shame you didn't get any help from the Ausgleich going wrong.

Eagerly awaiting the day the Republican Army pours across the border and seizes Rome. :D
 
This is brilliant mate, but I see some lack of italian language here and there.
For example, Piazza Dei Revolution just sounds silly in italian (The correct name would be Piazza Della Rivoluzione).
If you need help with some italian names I'm here to help (of course,if you wish).

For great Syndacalism!
 
This is some great stuff, keep up the good work.:)
 
@Attack: I hope it'll be that nice. I honestly was hoping the Augsleich would devolve into a civil war so I could settle accounts with the north while it was distracted. But the dice just don't roll the way I want it :p

@Habemus: Yes, I do not know a smack of Italian. Thank you for seeing that (I will go edit it) and I would appreciate it if you would point out other problems. It also tells me people are actually reading this, so that's a plus.

@Nikolai Thank you my good sir

Next chapter

The Second Congress of the Third International

Wilhelm Liebknecht recalling a pub crawl with Karl Marx in London said:
One evening, Edgar Bauer, acquainted with Marx from their Berlin time and then not yet his personal enemy […], had come to town from his hermitage in Highgate for the purpose of “making a beer trip.” The problem was to “take something” in every saloon between Oxford Street and Hampstead Road – making the something a very difficult task, even by confining yourself to a minimum, considering the enormous number of saloons in that part of the city. But we went to work undaunted and managed to reach the end of Tottenham Court Road without accident.

There loud singing issued from a public house; we entered and learned that a club of Odd Fellows were celebrating a festival. We met some of the men belonging to the “party,” and they at once invited us “foreigners” with truly English hospitality to go with them into one of the rooms. We followed them in the best of spirits, and the conversation naturally turned to politics – we had been easily recognised as Germany fugitives; and the Englishmen, good old-fashioned people, who wanted to amuse us a little, considered it their duty to revile thoroughly the German princes and the Russian nobles. By “Russian” they meant Prussian nobles. Russia and Prussia are frequently confounded in England, and not alone of account of their similarity of name. For a while, everything went smoothly. We had to drink many healths and to bring out and listen to many a toast.

Then the unexpected suddenly happened…

Edgar Bauer, hurt by some chance remark, turned the tables and ridiculed the English snobs. Marx launched an enthusiastic eulogy on German science and music – no other country, he said, would have been capable of producing such masters of music as Beethoven, Mozart, Haendel and Haydn, and the Englishmen who had no music were in reality far below the Germans who had been prevented hitherto only by the miserable political and economic conditions from accomplishing any great practical work, but who would yet outclass all other nations. So fluently I have never heard him speak English.

For my part, I demonstrated in drastic words that the political conditions in England were not a bit better than in Germany [… ] the only difference being that we Germans knew our public affairs were miserable, while the Englishmen did not know it, whence it were apparent that we surpassed the Englishmen in political intelligence.

The brows of our hosts began to cloud […]; and when Edgar Bauer brought up still heavier guns and began to allude to the English cant, then a low “damned foreigners!” issued from the company, soon followed by louder repetitions. Threatening words were spoken, the brains began to be heated, fists were brandished in the air and – we were sensible enough to choose the better part of valor and managed to effect, not wholly without difficulty, a passably dignified retreat.

Now we had enough of our “beer trip” for the time being, and in order to cool our heated blood, we started on a double quick march, until Edgar Bauer stumbled over some paving stones. “Hurrah, an idea!” And in memory of mad student pranks he picked up a stone, and Clash! Clatter! a gas lantern went flying into splinters. Nonsense is contagious – Marx and I did not stay behind, and we broke four or five street lamps – it was, perhaps, 2 o’clock in the morning and the streets were deserted in consequence. But the noise nevertheless attracted the attention of a policeman who with quick resolution gave the signal to his colleagues on the same beat. And immediately countersignals were given. The position became critical.

Happily we took in the situation at a glance; and happily we knew the locality. We raced ahead, three or four policemen some distance behind us. Marx showed an activity that I should not have attributed to him. And after the wild chase had lasted some minutes, we succeeded in turning into a side street and there running through an alley – a back yard between two streets – whence we came behind the policemen who lost the trail. Now we were safe. They did not have our description and we arrived at our homes without further adventures.

The Italian delegation to the conference landed in London early in the evening of May 30th. They had arrived along with the French delegation, departing around the same time after the Italian plane finished refueling at Paris. So far, the French and Italian delegations were the only ones to arrive- the Georgian delegation was still en route and reportedly carrying Russian revolutionaries with them. India’s plane was still a ways off and would not probably arrive until the 31st- but had taken the gracious act of taking a small delegation of the Taiwanese Syndicalists with them. In the western hemisphere, the Mexican plane and the Combined Syndicates Planes were expected to arrive early next morning, and the planes from Bolivia and Brazil would also come a bit later.

The French and Italian delegations exited the airport and were shown to cabs to take them to the accommodations where the conference delegates would stay at. There was not much activity on the street- a few curious bystanders stopped to see the large group of foreigners exiting the airport but not much else.

Gramsci noted the looks of the people walking on the sidewalks and the curious residents of the apartments looking out of their windows to see the line of cars going down the street. He knew the people of London were well aware of the Second Congress that was about to be held, but it seemed they were still a little awestruck that it occurred at all.

The Union of Britain was probably one of most isolated socialist nations existing in the world. After the revolution, the country looked inwards and seemingly became a world of its own [1]. It was only up until three years ago that the country began to break out of its isolation and reach out to nations besides those aligned with France’s Syndicalist International, and began to tinker with the idea of Britain once again becoming a significant world power.

Unlike the Socialist Republic of Italy, which had eventually received recognition by most nations [2], the Union of Britain was only recognized by a few international bodies. The government in Ottawa still had a great deal of strength in international affairs and had managed to successfully convince many nations in Europe to not recognize the Union of Britain. Many of these nations had trade agreements with the republican government in London, but fell short of a full, diplomatic recognition of the new nation. For all intents and purposes, they viewed the Union of Britain as Ottawa did: an illegitimate force occupying the rightful territory of the monarchy.

Like many of the delegates, Gramsci had brought his family with him- meaning his wife and two young sons. This would at least be a chance for them to see other countries, as Gramsci had for the most part remained in Naples ever since the revolution save for tours around Sicily during the campaign against the mafia.

Their rooms were modest- the Union of Britain had a stringent policy on the image of “luxury” in their nation and made sure that no “excessive” signs of waste were shown. He made his way to the radio near one of the beds and switched it on:

“… Broadcasting Cooperative. Now, for your evening news. The Republican Government today welcomed delegates from the Commune of France and the Socialist Republic of Italy, as we draw ever nearer to the Second Congress of the Third International. These delegations were led by Daniel Guerin of France and Antonio Gramsci of Italy. By tomorrow the last of the delegates shall arrive and they will be taken for a tour of London…”

And indeed the next day once the last of the delegates had arrived, the government took the entire delegations, their families included, for a tour around London. They were shown the major sights- the Congress of the Trade Unions, London Zoo, the National Gallery and the Red Square, the Museum of the Revolution, the developing metro system, and much more [3]. London was certainly a “modern” city; it showed the signs of industrialization better than Paris even did. To their credit, despite the pressures, the CTU had run London well.

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London in the 1930s​

They were treated to a small parade of civil groups in London, with the various unions sending representatives and cultural groups creating shows of their customs. Much to their surprise, the delegates were led down from their seating towards the end, and told to walk down the avenue. As they did, the announcer told the crowds the name of the nation as they walked by. Most received respectful applause and cheering, but the Combined Syndicates’ delegation led by Ernest Hemingway received a very warm reception. Indeed, the American Civil War had captured the imaginations of many members of the Third International, and the Union of Britain was certainly no exception.

As they day winded down, the delegates were free to do as they wished. The Indian delegates took the opportunity to visit with the substantial Indian community in the Union of Britain. The French took meetings with the British government. Francesco Maugeri, the head of the RSI’s navy, took the opportunity to visit the major naval base at Portsmouth [4]. Gramsci found himself in the company of other Marxist-influenced delegates, from his own Italian delegation and others. There was of course, one thing they all knew well about London- it was Karl Marx’s stomping grounds. Gramsci managed to get into contact with William Gallacher and Henry Pollit, two of the major figures representative of Marxist currents in the Union of Britain, who arranged for them to visit both Karl Marx’s last residence and his grave.

The grave itself was nondescript. It was a slab of marble with the inscription “Workers of all Lands, Unite!” as well as “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it”, along with a short description of his life. While there, they also took the moment to commemorate Engels, who had been cremated and scattered to the wind.

On May 1st, the Congress was officially convened with a large parade by all elements of the Union of Britain marking Labor Day. The procession was followed by the delegates of the Congress that ended at the Congress of the Trade Unions where the debates and discussions were to take place.

The Congress was opened with a speech by Eric Blair, an associate of the Maximists, journalist, and ardent supporter of the revolution.

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Eric Blair's speech to the Congress said:
Comrades, I welcome all of you to London. In this chamber we have the finest example of internationalism and cooperation across borders this world will ever see. From the banks of the Seine to the warm waters of the Mediterranean, to the Rhineland and the North Sea, of the mountains of Scandinavia to the Balkans, to the mountains of the Caucasus and the banks of the Volga, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, to the Amazon Rainforest and the Andes, the cradle of mankind to the Pyramids and landscape of Africa, to the ancient lands of India and the waters of the Chinese sea, we have gathered here a cross section of the human population.

No other organization can claim the same achievement- where else can an Englishman and an Indian discuss and debate as equals, as opposed to the imperialism of the tyrants in Ottawa, where the Indian has to pay his respects to the King? Or what of the “enlightened” Kaiser in Berlin who seeks to set Germany at the center of the universe and subjugate everyone under his “guidance”? Where is the equal footing there? There is no humanity there, only a narrow centeredness around the supposed inherent superiority of their nation. It is only in the Third International that we see humans seeing each other as humans- nothing less.

This is expected of the proletarian revolution. We are the ones to move the world forward into the future, to smash down the borders, to stand together as workers of the world, as brothers and sisters.

We cannot expect the reactionaries or the bourgeoisie to stand by idly as we make our proclamations. We saw what fate Lenin and his Bolsheviks suffered at the hands of the reactionaries as their revolution seemed all but secured. We have seen the horrible repression our comrades in Germany, in Spain, in the United States, in Russia, and many other places have experienced in their call for freedom and liberty. The ruling class will not give up their power just because of protests- the “reforms” they propose are merely a way to delude the masses.

Because of this, all nations of the International should be ready to take up arms in defense of the international revolution. Our brothers and sisters in America have already shown us this commitment, as has all members of the International Brigades.

We should be ready to forge our own “Sword of Damocles”, a weapon to hold over the bourgeoisie and reactionaries to remind them of their impending doom, and the unstoppable progress of the proletariat into the future. A weapon that shall defend the gains of our revolution- if we fail we are once again chained to masters, with a boot kicking us to the curb like dogs when we demand freedom! It will be a dark future, with a boot stamping on our faces forever.

The bourgeoisie and the reactionaries know their time is coming. They are being backed into the corner and will lash out like wild animals. We must stand ready and finally free the world.

Workers of the World, Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains and a world to win!

Blair’s speech was warmly received by the delegates, some of whom were well aware of what he was saying even before the translations were made to them. It was an emotion they all shared, of the revolutionary fervor and their stand against the world’s skepticism. In particular, Oswald Mosley of the Maximists was proud to see that a Totalist had represented to the delegates that they were more than simply “extremists” or nationalism, but committed to the ideals of the revolution.

On the second day of the Congress, the debates took course over aid to the Americans in their revolution. The nations were unanimous in their diplomatic support to the Combined Syndicates- however physical aid was another matter entirely. Some delegates were unsure of the possibility for the Americans to even win. Others entered into sectarian jibes against the Combined Syndicates leadership and its ideology. In particular the Union of Britain found that its delegates were divided over increasing their commitment to the war beyond what they had done already. Bill Alexander, an associate of Mosley’s Totalists, had forgone an appointment to head the Republican Army to lead the International Brigades. Already Britain had a significant commitment- why must it do more? Similar arguments were heard from the French delegation.

The Mexicans and Centroamericans also weighed their options. A socialist nation in North America, particularly a strong one like the Americans, would be a significant aid in their independence in the region. However, unlike the French or the British, the two did not have much to contribute beyond resources and volunteers. The Italians found themselves much in the same boat- they did not have the potential to contribute industrial aid or weaponry- but they had surpluses of materials and more volunteers willing to join the International Brigades after the feats of the Garibaldi Brigades in New York became known.

The French and British announced their attentions to the chamber. The French said they would export more weaponry and vehicles to the revolutionaries in America. The British, surprisingly, went all out and promised Industrial aid, resources, and weapons. The Mexicans and Centroamericans both promised volunteers would be sent to the Civil War. Mexico, for its part, also agreed for the use of its ports and airspace to transport aid to the Combined Syndicates.

When the talks turned towards Nenni and Italy’s participation in the Revolution, he nodded to Gramsci and declared that Italy would provide volunteers and resources- the most it could provide- to the Americans. “The fate of our volunteers weigh on victory as well”, declared Nenni.

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The third day of the conference was a continuation of the debate on the American Civil War. Updates of major events were read out to the delegates- most importantly that the Pennsylvanian corridor had mostly been restored. However, they were facing strong opposition from United States infantry divisions equipped with powerful artillery- something that was tearing through their ragtag, but brave, collection of militias.

As the proceedings entered into the afternoon, the stage was quieted for Ernest Hemingway, militia commander and writer for the Combined Syndicates.

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Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway's speech to the Congress said:
Comrades, I would like to thank you all for the help you have provided to our cause. We shall not forget that when Reed declared our new nation, that the nations of the International acted quickly and provided us with essential aid. Beyond defections from the National Guard and workers forming militias among themselves, we found ourselves faced with the full wrath of the US military- even the America First could at least not deny that they were helped greatly with defections from the army proper.

It really did move me a few days back when I, along with my other American brothers and sisters, received a warm and energetic welcome from the proud people of the Union of Britain. It reminded me that despite the world of difference that exists between us, that the bond and sympathies of the worker transcends all boundaries. The fact that we have such an enthusiastic backing from workers all around the world shows how aware the proletariat has become to their condition.

I am pleased that our French and British comrades have decided to give us more aid. We all appreciate the brave sacrifices of the French and British brigades in halting the American drive towards Chicago back in February, outside the city of Decatur. It is fitting that in the same place where Lincoln got his start that the Combined Syndicates was able to assure its independence.

Even when our Mexican comrades found that the America First denied them transit through the Gulf of Mexico- as idiotic as that may sound- they mounted their horses and rode their way up to Chicago, just like an old western story. They fought their way through both MacArthur and Long’s men, and the enemy had already learned to fear them well before we were aware they were coming.

I cannot forget the sacrifice of the Italian Garibaldi Brigades in the defense of New York City, a torturous battle that lasted nearly three months, one which both the Americans and their Italian Comrades paid heavily for. It secured the lifeline we have to the outside world, and we cannot forget that it was made possible by the brave men and women of the Garibaldi Brigades. Even with this sacrifice, our Italian Comrades are still sending more volunteers and providing us with well need resources even though they are just as needy for them. Just as Jack London said long ago- “A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog” – the Italians have surely shown their goodwill, and we will not forget that.

We are fighting a tough war, but I am confident with the aid we have been given and continued to be given, that we shall carry this to its conclusion and raise the red banner high over the United States and finally joining the International community.

The military clique around MacArthur and the reactionaries rallying around Long are enemies of freedom, seeking to establish an iron grip rule over the workers for the “sake of our national prosperity”. And yet they act surprise when revolution happened- we all know it inevitable. The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists- I cannot think of a more fitting way to describe the likes of Long and MacArthur.

We shall triumph over them and light a torch for freedom that will inspire the world all around. Once again, the world will look upon “America” as a symbol of freedom and hope, as they did in the decades past.

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As Hemingway finished, the hall burst into applause. Hemingway simply nodded, waved good bye, and descended back the steps and made his way to the seating for the American delegation. The meeting closed early, feeling that all that needed to be said in the chamber regarding the American Revolution was complete- specifics could be hammered out between the diplomats.

On May 4th, discussions over Spain and Italy took place. The Spanish delegates, mostly from the CNT-FAI, described the ongoing crisis in Spain and the social disorder, as well as the increasing strength of Prince Xavier and the Carlists. The delegates were of the opinion that Spain could very well reach a tipping point very soon, particularly due to the King’s health becoming increasingly questionable after a stroke earlier in the year. They again thanked the Union of Britain, the Commune of France, and the Socialist Republic of Italy for allowing CNT-FAI members to take refuge in their nation, and thanked the latter two for allowing them training and supplies.

In the afternoon, the ground was open to discussion on the Socialist Republic of Italy. Nenni took questions from French and British delegations that wondered about the progress in Industrialization in the RSI. Nenni explained to the delegates that in a year, a number of factories were completed and new economic policies and technologies were implemented, giving nearly a 50% boost in overall industrial power from three years ago.

Nenni also discussed with the Brazilian, Centroamerican, Bolivian, Mexican, and French delegations how the RSI approached the Church. In contrast with the French approach, the RSI had taken a much more cautious and gradual strategy in combatting the role of the Church.

“It is troublesome”, he started, “when the people are largely turned by their religions into supporting reactionary positions. We had to find a way of combating the Church this without basically doing the bad things the Church said we do. Religion plays a big role in our culture, to which I believe our comrades from Latin America can relate to. We attempted to reason with the people- our war is with the Vatican, not with Christ. It is difficult as you can imagine when those two are so intertwined. Our main hope is that the new generation of youth growing up in the Republic will in time reject the word of the Vatican. This is easier said than done, of course.”

Gramsci was invited up after Nenni’s questioning to discuss the Anzio Crisis that occurred the year before in the middle of the Paris Conference:

Antonio Gramsci on the Anzio Crisis said:
It was about this time last year when the republic was faced with war. We had discovered a plot by anti-syndicalist clergy who aimed to create an “exodus” of loyal followers out of the country to the Federation, striking a desperate pact with the mafia. We could not let this happen- if it did, it would have simply encouraged a mass flight of people and potentially collapse the country.

We were tired of the Federation always leading the game. In part my action was done for sending a message to the world as much as it was to keep a meltdown from occurring. We had to show the world that the republic would not be pushed around so easily any more. The Pope, from his lofty throne in Rome, had been denouncing us long enough- it was our time to put our feet down.

Our men reacted swiftly and without recourse. The port city of Anzio was captured and raids on the mafia were taken throughout the country to halt the flow of people to that port.

The Italian Federation massed forces to face us- but we fended off their counterattack, much to their surprise and that of the world. The Republic had shown we were just as strong as the Federation. The world had underestimated us. We averted a war thankfully, one that I am sure that none of us needed at this juncture.

Integrating Anzio has been a difficult case. It is one thing to remove state authority; it is another task altogether when you consider the civil society existing alongside it that would oppose us. This civil society is the one responsible for the existence of the Federation, and the state ensured its continuation- the ideals of the nobility and the Vatican runs strong through the people as the “common sense” of the day. The State was only an outer ditch, behind which there stood a powerful system of fortresses and earthworks- merely defeating the state is not enough for the republic, nor for anyone else. I think that scenario can be seen by any of our delegates here after their respective revolutions- the remnants of the old civil society resisting the new, attempting to re-project their ideal state.

It is a daunting task, but one that we cannot shortchange or ignore. A war of position and a war of maneuver are both important and rely on one another. There can be no feasible war against the state if the war in the civil society is not won, and a “victory” in the civil society is incomplete without a war against the state. It is foolish to claim that merely overthrowing the state is suffice, or that a revolution simply from ideas with no action can occur. We must have Praxis, the intersection between thought and action.

I am confident however that it is a task that the proletariat everywhere can achieve. The future belongs to the workers and peasants- they are the only truly progressive forces and the inheritors of the future.

Gramsci’s speech was warmly received, though the Sorelian faction in the Commune of France felt the material at the end regarding state power was a direct attack on their positions. In particular Gramsci’s old rival Tasca denounced the speech as “Marxist nonsense”.

The next day was a break from political activities as the focus shifted to scientific concerns. The Union of Britain and the Commune of France, having the largest scientific establishments in the International, held conferences and discussions in Cambridge University over how to better integrate science into their nations and make the use of it in all realms of life. Scientists from the other nations also participated, such as Enrico Fermi from the RSI. However, a closed-door meeting between the scientists of the Union of Britain and the Commune of France took place that was blocked out to other scientists, including Fermi. When he informed the RSI delegation about this, they were enraged and informed the representatives from both nations of their displeasure.

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They were told, as the other nations that had also been informed, that what had been discussed was a particular matter regarding the potential development of “powerful weaponry” to tip the scales in a future war, but one that had to be kept secret. The RSI or the other nations decided not to press the matter any further in order to arouse suspicion from foreign press covering the scientific summit.

On May 8th, the revolutionary situation in South America was discussed. Brazil and Bolivia were in particular focused on due to their recent revolutions. Oscar Weinschenck, the foreign minister for the new syndicalist regime in Brazil, discussed the challenges to both Brazil and Bolivia in the region. In particular, he singled out the “reactionary” regime in La Plata which he said is still rooted in the tradition of presidential dictatorships of the 1800s. Both Brazil and Bolivia found themselves on the wrong end of the Great South American War [5], and there was an element of revanchism in Weinschenkc’s condemnation of La Plata. Regardless, both the Union of Britain and the Commune of France recognized Brazil’s complaints and promised to give it aid in its struggle against La Plata in the region- a similar offer was extended to Bolivia as well.

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May 7th saw the tragic destruction of the British Airship, the John MacLean, as it prepared to land at the Paris Airfield after departing from London earlier in the day.

From La Repubblica article said:
A day of mourning has been declared in both France and Britain in the aftermath of the tragic crash of the John MacLean, the largest airship ever built. The MacLean was launched last year as a symbol of British strength and ingenuity, and made regular trips between London and Paris.

It is unclear as to what caused the crash, but bystanders reported seeing the airship burst into flames as it began its descent into the Paris airfield. This appears to be the accepted story now, but the question we are all wondering- how did it catch on fire?

Chairman of the House of Commons Antonio Gramsci relayed the condolences of the Socialist Republic of Italy as well as a telegram sent by President Toglatti with similar sentiments...

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Events for May 8th were cancelled as the Union of Britain declared a day of mourning. May 9th had conferences on Russia attended by the sole Russian delegate, Maxim Litvinov, discussing the dire situation in Russia and the increasing reactionary tide in that country. The Georgian delegates, represented by Beria himself, discussed their ambitions to create a “Caucasus Socialist Republic” as well as their concern about a reactionary and expansionist Russian Empire.

On May 10th, the discussions over Latin America continued with the Mexican foreign minister Lazaro Cardenas taking the stage to discuss Mexico’s role in the region. Like the RSI, he discussed the difficulties of Mexico and its struggle with the religious establishment, and the new programs that were started up between Mexico and the RSI to combat the attempts by the Vatican to utilize such channels. Cardenas extended his invitation to Centroamerica, Bolivia, and Brazil to cooperate in their common objectives in opposing the old bourgeoisie and landowner regimes that dominate the region and to form an economic block among themselves. He also extended the invitation to the Combined Syndicates after the war was over.

On May 11th, the Centroamerican foreign minister Laura H. de Salazar informed the Congress about Centroamerica’s tense rivalry with the United Provinces over control of the small, but vital region. She said that the United Provinces attempts at forcibly integrating Panama into the nation through war has not proceeded very well, but reminded Centroamerica of the United Provinces own desire to unify the region. Producing a paper from the office of the president, she declared Centroamerica’s intentions to unify the entire region and to counter the attempts by the United Provinces to ‘extend its dictatorship of landowners and plantations over the peoples of Central America’.

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On May 12th, the Indian foreign minister Subhas Chandra Bose took the platform to thank the International for its support for the Indian revolution and their challenges in bringing socialism to the country. He lauded the victory of “people’s power” over the bureaucratic tendencies from “some figures within our government” and was fairly optimistic in his prediction that they would unify the Indian subcontinent.

Bose also highlighted the importance of the developing revolutionary situation in Indochina, describing the oppression people were experiencing in Burma and the German colony of Vietnam were ripe conditions for socialism, and that the government was working in earnest to form connections with socialist groups operating in those countries.

On May 13th, the discussion turned to events in the Far East. The Taiwanese delegates described in detail the German intervention of 1926 with the fracturing of the Republican movement. They moved on to illustrate the horrid conditions of the Chinese Mainland divided between the rump Qing Empire, the Japanese-backed Fengtian Clique in Manchuria, the Legation Cities, the “religious wackjobs” of the Shangqing Tianguo, the Allgemeine Ostasiatische Gesellschaft and other Imperial German holdings , and warlord cliques such as Xibei San Ma and the Yunnan Clique. All were, according to the Taiwanese delegates, oppressed in some form or another. A strong working class was forming on the major coastal cities, and peasants were beginning to resist their governments in the country side. They were however in the end pessimistic about the potential for a full-blown socialist revolution, but felt that at least another Republican revolution was possible. They ended by asking the delegates to support their country against attempts by Japan to bring them back into their fold.

May 14th opened the floor up to revolutionaries in Africa and the Middle-East. This segment was unique in that the delegates from these regions were not necessarily “socialist”- few even felt the need to declare a syndicalist or Marxist perspective. While holding progressive views and their own sense of “socialism”, their ultimate goal was national liberation from the colonialism of the powers over them. It was a necessary step in destroying the grip of Germany and other powers over the chunks of what they called the “uncivilized world” [6].

As the conference was winding down, entering into discussions about creating a special athletic and sport federation between the nations of the International, news arrived that Philip Snowden, the recently resigned Chairman of the CTU, passed away at the age of 73 in his residence at Tilford, Surrey. Snowden was the Chairman of the CTU after the passing of John MacLean and had held that position, though had become concerned with the increasing rifts between the Federationists and Maximists.

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The death also brought an incredible show of support for the revolution as thousands poured into the streets of London to see the official procession of Snowden’s body to his requested burial spot. It was the largest such show of support for the regime since the days of the revolution and the death of John MacLean.

The Second Congress was officially closed on May 16th with a final declaration of support for the international revolution and solidarity with one another. It was a fitting end to a fruitful Congress.

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[1] After the revolution, the Union of Britain chose an isolationist path as it began to consolidate the gains in Britain and attempted to shut out all outside influences, preferring to ‘turn the island into a world of its own’. It refused to join the Third International’s military agreements and opted to focus economic development inwards rather than cooperate with France. It was only after 1933 that the Union of Britain began to finally look outwards again, though the principles of isolationism were still strong in political circles in that country.

[2] The Socialist Republic of Italy was eventually recognized by most nations in 1930, though few saw them as “Repubblica Socialista d'Italia” (RSI), or the “Socialist Republic of Italy”, but rather some variation on “The Republic of the Two Sicilies” or “South Italy”- essentially not recognizing it as a state for the entirety of Italy. This decision done by most nations in order to not enrage the Italian Federation or its Austrian allies, and by extension the German Empire, due to economic ties with those nations.

[3] The Congress of the Trade Unions was known before the revolution as the “Palace of Westminster”. The Museum of the Revolution was housed in the old Buckingham Palace, and “Red Square” was formerly Trafalgar Square.

[4] Maugeri was later reported by Liberazione as saying that seeing the Republican Navy’s sheer size and power made the Italian Republican Navy look like toy models by comparison.

[5] The Great South American War was a major conflict fought between Brazil and Bolivia against Argentina over the Gran Chaco region, an economically and strategically important region. In the late 1920s disputes over the region began to increase culminating in an invasion of Paraguay by Bolivia in 1933, which in turn prompted an intervention by Argentina on behalf of Paraguay. This provoked Brazil into intervening as well, leading into that nation’s successful occupation of Uruguay. Brazil and Argentina fought along the La Plata river, bogging the conflict down into trench warfare in the process. Bolivia was more or less left to face Argentina on her own, leading to its defeat in late 1934. By 1935 an Argentinean counterattack broke the exhausted Brazilians, prompting the latter to sue for peace.

The result of the war was Bolivia surrendering the entirety of the Gran Chaco region to Paraguay. Argentina then moved to federate with Uruguay and Paraguay, forming the nation of La Plata in 1935.

[6]”Uncivilized Nations” as often used by the crown in Ottawa or the empire in Berlin for the most part referred to territories in Africa, the Middle-East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, and the Far East.


---------

Regarding some stuff about my progress thus far. My IC now stands at about 32/23, a substantial increase from the original 22/18 I began with. I am currently constructing some factories in provinces that have resources but no factory before I begin an expansion of my ground forces.

Technology wise I'm still focusing on the "essentials"- basically Industrial and Agricultural tech, with the occasional foray into infantry and artillery. At this moment I'm viewing IC and manpower growth as the priorities. I will try and get some screens and what not to better demonstrate what I am talking about later.
 
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One of the most brilliant and immersive AAR's I've ever read, it's like I am reading an actual history book. I will be following this with great interest.
 
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Awesome!
 
I know I'm silly, but General Responsible for Transportation should be changed in Responsabile Generale dei Trasporti or, better yet, in Direttore Generale dei Trasporti.

If you need some more italian translations don't hesitate in PMing me, I'll gladly help as I think this is an interesting and very well written AARS, probably one of the best I've ever read.
 
Sorry for the long wait. I was distracted with the NBA finals over here and work. I have completed two chapters however, so they should be coming out over the course of this week.

@Sethanon, Soulstrider, and Davis: Thanks

@Habemus: We can discuss this over PM if you want. I'm copying these things word for word from the Kaiserpedia and I like your suggestions better. It feels more authentic.

The Collision

Communiqué between two officials in the Commune of France and the Socialist Republic of Italy. Identities are unknown said:
The die has been cast. We cannot go back now nor hide from the destruction the future will bring. This is the first step towards our ultimate victory- or our defeat.

The end of the International in mid-May saw the delegates of the international syndicalist movement return back to their respective homes. Of all these, the gravest threat lied with the American and Spanish delegations. Both were returning home to uncertain conditions- Hemingway had his brigade to return to in the midst of a violent Civil War while the CNT-FAI operatives remaining in Spain returned to a country becoming increasingly unstable.

The German Empire for its part, reacting to the Second Congress's declarations against Mitteleuropa and the Entente, began to reach out to neighboring states, to start a line of dialogue to secure their aid in the event of a war with France.

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The RSI was aware of the developing situation in Spain. They had allowed the CNT-FAI the most room to operate in their territory, which in turn developed a warm relationship between the two groups. The Italian CNT-FAI operatives visited London to meet with other operatives, and on May 7th, long before the completion of the Congress. Upon their return, they immediately requested a meeting with President Togliatti.

The entirety of the meeting is still unknown, but it is believed here that the operatives told Togliatti of the near total collapse of the government in Madrid. In particular Togliatti was informed that King Alfonso XIII had suffered a stroke earlier that year and entered into a coma- a fact that the Kingdom of Spain had largely hidden from the public. Only a few other nations were aware of the severity of King Alfonso’s health, and Togliatti now was one of the few foreign leaders who knew the truth behind King Alfonso’s stroke and ongoing coma.

The operatives relayed their distress at the situation. The government had continued to crack down on CNT-FAI cells and workers’ strikes in Spain, while allowing the other parties, the Carlist-sympathizers included, operate with freedom.

However, as the operatives also disclosed to Togliatti, signs began to emerge that Madrid was getting increasingly displeased with Prince Xavier’s activities and insults of the government, and some recent rallies by the Carlists were broken up by the police.

It was however at the end of the discussion that Togliatti saw the point of the conversation:

Conversation between Togliatti and the CNT-FAI operatives said:
President: Comrades, this is nice and all, but why request a meeting with me? Surely this could have been handled by one of the other staff?

Operative 1: You have not let us finish, Comrade Togliatti. We merely had to establish the real potential for war in Spain. What comes next involves you and the rest of Italy. Comrade [redacted – “Operative 2”] can inform you further.

Operative 2: Comrade, as you may know already, Prince Xavier earned the trust of the crown by securing valuable economic agreements with other catholic nations, such as Ireland, Austria, and the Italian Federation, forming a so-called “Catholic Economic Block”.

What was not so well known however is that Prince Xavier also secured military aid from these nations. In particular the Italian Federation has been sending surplus weaponry from Austria to Carlist groups, and a secret protocol was signed between Prince Xavier and the Italian Federation regarding the Socialist Republic of Italy.

Excuse me… ah, here it is. I direct you to this line here- you’ll see clearly that in exchange for Vatican aid and blessings, the Carlists in turn promise in the event of their rise to power in Spain that they will help the Vatican in “eradicating” the syndicalist menace. Part of this is enacting an embargo on the Socialist Republic of Italy by preventing any passage through Gibraltar.

Operative 3: We don’t need to tell you how bad this would be, President. With the Mediterranean closed, you would only have France to fall back on- with no possible means to contact other nations beyond the Mediterranean states.

President: I see. And what is it you propose?

Operative 1: Merely that you’ll stand by us when the moment comes. War is on the horizon. It would be beneficial if you could get France in a position to help us as well.

The Carlists can easily paint a war as a “Reconquista” of sorts- the reestablishment of Spain as the faithful defender of Christendom, standing strong against syndicalism. It will be to the Catholic masses what the American November Revolution has so far done to excite the minds of socialists everywhere.

Surely, you do not want the Italian Federation to manipulate your populace once again?

The minutes of the meeting- in their entirety- was relayed to Nenni and Gramsci upon their return to the RSI. The matter was highly sensitive and kept within the Council of the Republic and not disclosed to the House of Commons. Even Nenni was instructed not to relay the matter to the Commune of France- even though Makhno led the anarchists in France and would naturally be the first to leap to the CNT-FAI’s defense. The Anarchists had of course secured the top tiers of the Communal Army’s command structure, but the Sorelian and Jacobins still maintained extensive influence in the military and would naturally attempt to use the war to support their faction within the factions of revolutionary Spain.

The unfolding situation was watched carefully by the CNT-FAI operatives at their informal base of operations within the RSI at Reggio Calabria. Street battles erupted in the major cities across Spain as the government could no longer adequately explain the absence of King Alfonso from public affairs.

On May 18th, the Spanish government saw a general strike grip Barcelona, while Prince Xavier in Madrid held a “Rally of the Faithful” pronouncing that the “rebirth of Spain” would be imminent. Both of the “extreme” factions were now spiraling out of control, and the government ordered crackdowns on both the strikers in Barcelona and the arrest of Prince Xavier.

The government could secure neither. Prince Xavier fled before the horses and batons came down, and the government found the workers in Barcelona far too troublesome to get under control. The major cities were engulfed in chaos and the countryside fell into disorder.

On May 18th, Prince Xavier emerged in Burgos, and flanked by his loyal paramilitaries, declared a war to “save Spain from destruction”. Raising the Cross of Burgundy, Prince Xavier declared himself a king of a “New Spain” and the defender of the faithful in Spain, and the beginning of the “Second Reconquista”.

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The following day the government intervention in Barcelona failed as the military found itself outnumbered and even saw that the police turned on them. Similar reports came from Valencia that the workers’ councils had assumed control of the city and the surrounding countryside. The CNT-FAI emerged from hiding and declared the creation of a new workers’ government and the death of the bourgeois government, joining the workers’ councils of Barcelona and Valencia into one entity, and eventually gaining the support of many other areas along the Mediterranean coast.

The situation developed rather quickly for the RSI. President Togliatti and the rest of the Council of the Republic saw that the CNT-FAI operatives were not merely making idle threats, but were warning them of a real possibility- one that was coming true right before their eyes. Soon enough, the leader of the CNT-FAI in Italy [1] informed the Council of the Republic that they would be departing to Spain to help out their comrades, as would their other men in France and the Union of Britain.

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Soon enough, foreign powers began to intervene in the affairs of the broken Spanish nation. The Russian Empire made its first foray into foreign affairs by declaring full support for the beleaguered Kingdom of Spain, while the Portuguese chose to support the Carlists as the legitimate power in Spain.

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The German Empire began to make preparations for support for the Kingdom, but decided to test the mettle of the Spanish by having its colonial authorities in Mittelafrika offer to buy the Spanish colony of Bata from the Kingdom. This was accepted by the Kingdom of Spain, desperate for any form of cash and no longer able to feasibly maintain its distant colony in Africa.

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The Commune of France quickly decided to declare full support for the anarchists of Spain on May 20, mostly due to Makhno’s pressuring within the organs of the Commune of France. Soon, volunteers and material began to stream over the border of France to the revolutionaries in Spain.

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The following day, Mexico decided to recognize the CNT-FAI and offer it support in its fight, while simultaneously opening its borders to refugees from Spain.

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Ireland however, already refusing to participate in the Catholic Economic Block nearly a year earlier, decided against taking a position on the Spanish Civil War, continuing its isolationist trends.

Within the RSI however, the House of Commons found the matter harder to back. The Anarcho-Syndicalist’s were split over the matter, with some feeling that diplomatic support was sufficient while others stating that the country’s problems with electrical production would be exacerbated by supporting the war effort in Spain. The Social-Reformists were in favor of just diplomatic support, while the National-Syndicalists refused to support “anarchist rabble” in Spain.

It was however the Italian Federation that moved the RSI into action. On May 25, making good on the protocols of the Catholic Economic Block, the Federation sent full aid along with the authorities in National France.

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More over the Pope gave his blessings to King Xavier as a faithful defender of Christendom and hoped for his success in “restoring peace” to Spain, and urged all “good Catholics” everywhere to send what they could to the Carlists in Spain.

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By late May the war entered into full swing, with the three factions of Spain cutting up the regions among themselves. The Kingdom of Spain retained the heartland of Spain down to Gibraltar, the Carlists secured the northwestern parts of the country, and the CNT-FAI occupied the northeastern Mediterranean seaboard.

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The Spanish Civil War at the outbreak of hostilities

With the presence of the CNT-FAI, the Carlists decided to attempt a bold plan to assassinate the crown prince of the Kingdom of Spain- for all intents and purposes the actual King of Spain considering Alfonso’s coma. The Carlists hoped that if the plan succeeded, the Kingdom of Spain might enter into chaos and become a less powerful entity, or possibly even recognize Xavier as the rightful king. Whatever the case, the CNT-FAI was able to catch wind of it and attempted to use it as leverage with the Kingdom of Spain.

The offer was simple- in exchange for clemency and protection from the CNT-FAI, the royal family and the government would surrender to the CNT-FAI and transfer control of its territories to the government in Barcelona.

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The CNT-FAI knew the chances of this deal being accepted was slim, but it would cost nothing to offer it on the table, and better yet at least expose the dark side of the supposedly “good Catholics” of the Carlists. The Kingdom of Spain rejected the offer, feeling that there was no real chance that the Crown Prince would be assassinated by anyone.

However, the CNT-FAI found itself receiving the wrath of the catholic block soon enough with its revelation of the Carlist assassination plot. On May 26th, an Italian Federation merchant fleet transporting weaponry and supplies to the Carlists was raided by pirates affiliated to the CNT-FAI. During the raid a number of Italian Federation seaman and officers were killed for no apparent reason by the pirates, leading to immense condemnation by the Vatican.

The Federation decided to make its first bold move onto the international arena. On the same day Pope Julius stated to crowds gathered underneath St. Peter’s Basilica that the members of the CNT-FAI were heretics and evil-doers, cut from the same cloth of the “oppressive separatists in the South”. He declared the “wrath of God shall smite the anarchists” and formally declared war on the CNT-FAI.

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Now the words of the CNT-FAI operatives were vindicated; the Italian Federation now moved itself into cementing a full alliance with the Carlists. Spain would be the first grand entrance of the Catholic Block on to the international stage, the first stage in what they felt would be the next world order.

This sent both Paris and Naples into rage, with the latter sending telegrams condemning such a direct intervention in another nation’s civil war. The response from Rome was simple enough: “The wrath of God shall cleanse Spain. It will be the first step in restoring Christendom too all those who have strayed from the path and oppressed the faithful”.

The National-Syndicalists, suddenly forgetting their previous antipathy towards the anarchists of Spain, now began to beat the war drums to declare war on the Italian Federation. The Social-Reformists attempted to argue for more measured response, joining the Anarcho-Syndicalists in stating that a war with the Italian Federation might provoke Germany and/or Austria into intervening in the war.

Communiqués between Paris and Naples went along the same lines- both were attempting to grapple with how to possibly intervene in Spain without provoking the German Empire. The Italian Federation’s intervention would give France a convenient pretext to get itself involved in Spain, but the German Empire would not sit idly by.

The Union of Britain, further emerging from its isolationist positions, publically declared its support for the CNT-FAI and organized what supplies and aid it could to the revolutionaries in Spain. It also joined France and the RSI in condemning the Federation intervention in the war. Austria, holding faithful to its commitment in the Catholic Economic Block, began to send aid to the Carlists in Spain.

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The RSI, seeing as many other Syndicalist nations had already thrown in full support for the CNT-FAI, decided to finally declare its support for the revolutionaries in Spain on May 28th. The role of the Italian Federation’s intervention could not be understated in finally breaking the deadlock in the House of Commons.

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The German Empire also intervened directly, choosing to support the Kingdom of Spain in its efforts while condemning the Austrian Empire for not doing the same. The aid that the Italian Federation sent earlier- though irrelevant now due to that country’s direct intervention- finally reached the hands of the Carlists.

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The beginning of June marked the end of interventions in Spain as the Civil War heated up. The Italian Federation began to deploy divisions within Carlists territories while attempting landings on the CNT-FAI’s territories on the Mediterranean coast. The war did not seem to indicate any sort of quick victory by any of the parties- though France had suddenly become rather silent on Spain.

The RSI was not sure as to what France was doing- was it planning a direct intervention or simply trying to forget Spain altogether? Was its attention drawn elsewhere?

The RSI found its answer on June 15th when France demanded the French-speaking Romandy province of Switzerland- containing the city of Geneva- to be seceded to the Commune of France.

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The Commune of France cited oppression of the French-speaking peoples in Switzerland and a “white terror” against workers in that country- something the RSI did not see at all with its own intelligence networks- but had nonetheless bullied Switzerland into surrendering a significant chunk of its territory to the Commune of France.

The Union of Britain saw that it had a situation to deal with as well. The Irish, attempting to find another source of trade after the Catholic Economic Block nations shunned them for not supporting the Carlists in Spain, reached out to its former imperial power in Ottawa for economic help. Canada, hoping to see this as a potential first step into cementing a position form which it can attack the British Isles, approved the request.

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On June 18th, the German-controlled Kingdom of White Ruthenia had a significant event as Prince Sigismund, a claimant to the throne of the kingdom though not among the ranks of the royal family, was arrested outside the National Theater. In cooperation with German Intelligence, it was discovered that Sigismund had devised a plot to assassinate the King and his entire family by setting off explosives in the National Theater, so as to set up his own rise to the throne. He had planned to arrive late just as the bomb was going off so as to appear innocent- but his plan was foiled before it could be enacted.

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On June 19th, another war engulfed a syndicalist-friendly nation. The Mitteleuropa-aligned state of La Plata presented an ultimatum to the syndicalist nation of Bolivia, demanding that the entirety of the Santa Cruz Department. Bolivia, with memories of its humiliation from the previous war still fresh, refused to give anything to La Plata, thus starting a war between the two nations. The syndicalist nation of Brazil honored its alliance with Bolivia and joined in the war against La Plata.

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Unfortunately for either nation, the support it could possibly receive from the nations of the Syndintern would be limited- La Plata was officially a member of Mitteleuropa, and the Commune of France did not wish to cause a war with them yet. Regardless, advisors and support were sent discretely to Brazil to aid in their efforts.

The RSI for its part continued to issue complaints and warnings to the Italian Federation over its intervention in Spain, which the Federation ignored. The RSI for some time stayed in contact with the Commune of France over Syndintern action in Spain- it was already decided that there should be an increase in support for the CNT-FAI. Already it appeared the American Revoution seemed to be more and more secure- especially with the news on July 15th that Washington DC fell to a Combined Syndicates attack led by General Smedley Butler [2].

However, the involvement of the Italian Federation was an issue. The naval forces of the Federation were maintaining a blockade on the CNT-FAI which made delivery to them difficult, leaving only the land routes in France available to them. The Federation also began to prevent RSI ships containing aid to the CNT-FAI from docking at France.

The Federation was getting on both the RSI and the Commune of France’s nerves- it was only its guarantee of independence by the German Empire that prevented either from doing anything about it. So it was no surprise that the news of a war in the east came as a great relief to the Syndintern.

On July 6th, an incident took place on the border of the Fengtian Clique-controlled Manchurian state and the Qing Empire. A railroad ran between the two states, constructed by the Japanese in the past. Japan reported that 25 Manchurians and 12 Japanese died on the border, blaming fire from the Qing garrison across the border. The specifics were unclear and possibly fabricated- but the Japanese were looking for any pretext to finally expand into China and remove Germany as a power in the east.

Ignoring a possibility for “compensation”, feeling the German Empire would refuse that, the Japanese opted for war on the Qing Empire, which in turn provoked the German Empire into declaring war on Japan. Soon, Germany’s attention was divided between its involvement in La Plata and defending its colonial holdings in the far-east.

The Austrians too were distracted. In the renegotiations of the Ausgleich earlier that year, Austria and Hungary both moved to annex territories directly into their states with the others’ approval. Austria bullied Bohemia into accepting annexation of its German-speaking regions, but Hungary had less luck with its attempts to claim regions of Croatia. The Croatians rejected this move and rose up in arms against the Hungarian forces, leading to the Austria deciding to watch developments in both Bohemia and Galicia-Lodomoria carefully in case they joined in the revolt as well.

So it was on July 16th a RSI shipment to the CNT-FAI attempted to run the blockade of the Italian Federation, escorted by elements of the Republican Navy. The resulting confrontation was a debacle for the RSI, with the transports scuttled and the escort ships destroyed, with a significant loss of life.

The RSI severed all lines of connection with the Italian Federation, as did the Commune of France. Both demanded that the Italian Federation withdraw from the Spanish war or suffer the consequences.

The Federation unsurprisingly refused. An emergency session of the House of Commons was called, with members of the Council of the Republic also participating, over the next approach. As the hours went on it became apparent that war was becoming a fast possibility. Communiqués from the Commune of France indicated debates in Paris were taking the same direction.

“I believe we can’t dance around the issue any longer”, declared Gramsci “We will come into conflict with the Federation sooner or later- and the longer we wait the stronger they get.”

“I concur with the Chairman”, said Togliatti, “The Federation has been sabotaging our attempts at solidifying our order at every junction. We have a good opportunity to smash these reactionaries once and for all”

“More over it appears the Mafia has once again attempted to get people out of the country”, started Grieco, “We have evidence that they have gathered ‘volunteers’ to fight in the Pope’s crusade in the Vatican. The Federation is just walking all over us. We cannot let this go any further.”

“So tell me then”, said Matteotti, “why have you all forgotten so quickly about our loss of life in running the blockade. It almost seems that has become secondary to your warpath right now”

“What is your point, Matteotti?”, asked Mussolini, “we already know you are too much of a coward to take up arms in defense of the revolution”

“I stand with the people of Italy against war”, retorted Matteotti, “Surely you don’t want this seen as an act of imperialism, something you know well considering your glowing support of the Great War…”

“Don’t lecture me on Imperialism”, yelled back Mussolini, “I served jail time with other comrades in opposing the Italian occupation of Libya, where as your reformist ilk like Bonomi showed their opportunistic tendencies in supporting that adventure.“

Mussolini waved towards Turati, “After all, I recall yourself, your master here, and the rest of the Social-Reformist delegation supported the war!”

The hall broke out into yelling and Gramsci banged his gavel on the podium

“Comrade Matteotti”, sighed Gramsci, “I would rather save these kinds of debates for later. Where were you going with your previous line of questioning?”

“I want the full circumstances of the naval incident- did we not know the Federation would act as such? If anything, this seemed to be a provocation”

“Then if you feel that way”, said Berneri, “you’ll simply show that in your vote. No need to get feathers ruffled. Unless you would rather explain that to peoples of the Workers and Peasant Army”

Bordiga mumbled something again about anarchists after Berneri’s comments, recalling a similar incident over the support for the CNT-FAI. Once again the hall erupted into arguments and fights, and Gramsci had to bang the gavel once more.

“Comrades, time is of the essence. We cannot dally any longer. We have been going at this for nearly six hours without any conclusion. Let us see what the vote brings”

The vote was taken, and this time the vote found itself narrowly in favor of intervening in the Spanish Civil War and “punishing” the reactionaries. Nenni sent a telegram to Paris stating the government of the RSI’s position and within an hour was sent back a reply indicating the Commune of France was preparing to join on behalf of the CNT-FAI in the war. With Germany and Austria distracted, it would be an opportunity to solidify the Commune of France’s position in Europe. For the RSI though, it was the promise of finally reunifying the Italian peninsula. Time would be of the essence though- a prolonged war would give Germany and Austria the excuse to intervene.

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The Revolution of 1921’s fate was now joined with the fighters of Spain.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[1] To this day the identity of the leader of the CNT-FAI in the RSI is unknown. His name has been carefully removed from public records.

[2] Butler was one of the few high ranking US military officers, along with George C. Marshall, to throw in their lot with the Combined Syndicates. Butler in particular had become increasingly radicalized after American interventions in Central America, saying that he was a “gangster for capitalism”.
 
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Go Syndie Italy!
 
Thanks Nikolai. As an addition here are two stats about the armies, navies, and air forces of the nations currently. Mitteleuropa currently is the largest power terms of victory points.

Army:
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Navy:
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Airforce:
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I'm most surprised by the Combined Syndicates' strength in the army. Not sure how they got that way. Though you can see by military I'm not even on the charts- I have maybe 9 divisions total. So I will be relying on France to help me here.

Russia is the largest land force in Europe in terms of numbers- hopefully Germany won't find a way to get them involved in the future.
 
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Oooh hows it been MercZ? Well I'll keep an eye on this.
 
@Habemus yes, yes it would be. Thankfully though, neither of the islands have VP and they were tied up elsewhere as you will see

@Prod: Good to hear

The Second Risorgimento

Unnamed clergyman said:
It is hard for me to describe what I felt- what we all felt- as we watched from the top of the basilica when we saw the first signs of the Republican tricolor emerge on the roofs of buildings on the eastern and southern edge of Rome. I could feel my heart dropping and I could see from the expression of my peers the same feeling. The day we had all feared had finally come- we could now relate to the feelings of our distant predecessors when Count Cadorna marched into Rome in 1870.

As hostilities broke out, the Italian Federation found itself scrambling to defend its borders. To make matters worse it had deployed much of its forces within Carlist territory to aid in their efforts in the Spanish Civil War.

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This meant that the Italian Federation had less than the needed forces to defend their territory. While the lands of the Federation were dotted with large fortifications and other defenses, it would only be a matter of time until the RSI and the French would break through those.

For the RSI, a rapid victory was paramount. They could not let the war drag on for too long or the Germans and Austrians might decide to get involved. More importantly, the RSI industry would not be able to handle the strain of a wartime economy for too long, while the Federation would probably be able to.

The forces along the border were already in place due to tensions from the Anzio Crisis from the previous year. Within hours much of the General Staff joined them and proceeded to direct the assaults on Federation territory.

The strategy on the RSI’s end would be a slow one focused on seizing Rome, while the French would drive in hard from the northwest and seize the industrial heartland of the Federation around Turin. Italo Balbo [1], a veteran of the Great War, led the forces besieging Rome.

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There was a clear numerical superiority on the RSI end, though they were not as well trained nor equipped as their Federation counterparts. More importantly, the city allowed for the Federation forces a significant advantage in defense, and in time they were aided by elements of the navy in holding back RSI strikes on the city.

What seemed to be the perfect set up for a quick seizure bogged down into a long siege of the city. The RSI found that it did not have the air superiority it desired and the Federation Navy was causing problems with its constant bombardments all along the coast.

The only thing that really worked in the RSI’s favor was the ongoing clearing of the Pontine Marshes by the Federation, which created more possible paths into Rome proper. Regiments with artillery in other provinces were brought in to give support to the thrust of the assault on the city of Rome.

The Federation naturally tried to evacuate some of its forces from Spain back to Italy. In some cases they were successful, but in others the French navy was able to intercept and sink the ships. The islands of Corsica and Sardinia were entirely vacated of its military presence as they were relocated to fight in Italy. This left both of the islands undefended- but there was no point in occupying them yet.

The RSI ran fighters and bombers across the north, focusing its efforts in particular on the port of Genoa and the factories of Turin. In both locations leaflets were dropped in working-class neighborhoods encouraging the workers to rise up and aid the entrance of French forces in ‘liberating’ their city. The RSI was aware that the radical unions still continued to exist despite the Federation’s creation of white unions [2], but was unclear as to their influence or membership.

Only a third of the workers rose up in the docks of Genoa, creating havoc but not significantly to hamper the Federation’s efforts. It was in Turin that the call to rise up was taken the most seriously, in the vast factories of FIAT, radical workers rose up and took over the plants for themselves, creating significant issues for the supplies that ran through the city to the French border where fighting was the heaviest.

The FIAT workers were already radicalized from their experiences in the worker strikes after the Great War. Though these were put down and ultimately failed, it left a strong memory in many of the workers who had some connection to it; some who had fathers who participated in the occupations and older members who were involved in them directly.

Most of July saw the Federation’s efforts in the northwest collapse as French forces began to advance towards Turin. While many of the workers were mindful towards the Vatican, few if any had any loyalty, much less respect, for the nobility that ran the affairs in their region. The FIAT factories came to a total halt as the workers took total control of the factories and its surrounding districts in Turin, and came into street fighting with the police and military holding the rear in Turin.

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Workers meeting in a FIAT factory​

By early August the siege of Rome had still yet to make any notable progress on the city itself, though its connection to the port at Fiumicino was captured by RSI forces in the first week. Balbo was confident that by the end of the month Rome would finally break and fall to RSI forces.

On the French end, the chaos created by workers at FIAT was sufficient enough to aid the French drive into the city, resulting in its capture on August 2nd. In the ensuing chaos as Federation forces tried to withdraw to the next line of defensive positions, French forces also stormed into the port of Genoa. With its industrial center and main port captured, the Federation found itself stretched as it now how to deal with a shortfall in its resources and industrial capacity.

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It was only in the sea that the Federation found any solace. Its navy was able to beat the RSI’s forces on two occasions, and was thus able to continue harassing the attempts by the RSI forces in capturing Rome by naval bombardments.

They were however unable to fully evacuate its forces from Spain, with the Commune of France patrolling the Bay of Biscay in their blockade of Carlist-held territories. On the other hand though, the main fleet of the Commune of France was unable to navigate into the Mediterranean as the Kingdom of Spain controlled the straits of Gibraltar, preventing the passage of the Communal navy into the Mediterranean where it could have dealt the death blow to the Federation navy.

In the air however the Syndintern found a significant advantage. The Federation did not have the ability to stand against the combined air forces of the Commune and the Republic, leaving much of its land routes undefended from air attacks- this severely hampered logistics, reinforcements, and communication among the defending Federation forces.

By mid-August, the Federation was reduced to more or less to the federal entities of the Papal States and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

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Balbo’s prediction of Rome falling by the end of August however failed to materialize. RSI forces, even with artillery and air strikes, were not able to completely dislodge the defenders of the city, which had swelled from soldiers retreating form the French advance in the north.

The main issue with the Syndicalist advance was the issue of the Vatican. Orders were given to specifically avoid the residence of the Pope on the assault of Rome and its environs. This was part of a larger attempt by the RSI to capture the city largely intact due to its strong value among Italians on both sides of the border, but damage to the Vatican in particular could possibly turn Catholic sentiment against them and create a problem in invading the rest of the country and potentially cause embarrassing defeats for the Syndicalist advance into the region.

This line of action, unsurprisingly, allowed for the command staff of the Federation to escape attacks against them and continue directing the Federation forces harassed. As such the policy instituted by the RSI caused some controversy within the Commune of France’s command structure which felt the RSI’s demands were unreasonable and unrealistic, while some within the command staff of the RSI criticized the measure for restricting their options and allowing the Federation forces the exploit the measure.

The government in Naples did not budge on the issue though. In the long-run, as Togliatti justified, Rome being captured in a reasonably good state would be a boost to the RSI’s credentials in the international arena. More importantly it would put to rest the paranoia that the socialists of the world were “hellbent on destroying our culture and heritage, using the excuse of ‘bourgeoisie’ influence, in order to solidify their own dictatorship”, as the British émigré GK Chesterton characterized the upheavals in the young Union of Britain in the latter half of the 1920s.

So in some ways, the war against the Federation was one fought in the battlegrounds and the other fought across the media. Even with both the American and Spanish Civil Wars still raging, the war in the Italian peninsula managed to make it to the front pages of many national papers, typically condemning the Syndintern’s “War of Aggression” against the Federation. They highlighted the sinking of the RSI ships attempting to run the blockade of the CNT-FAI, defending the Federation’s actions by stating it was their duty to maintain the blockade and wondering if the RSI had intentionally provoked the violence. In particular the religiously-themed papers and commentators saw it as yet another example of the Syndicalist “oppression of the Faithful” and disdain for the “Freedom of Religion”.

In turn it was up to the Syndicalists to agitate as best as they could with through their newspapers and among the trade unions in other countries. They attempted to remind people that it was the Federation of course that chose to get itself involved in the Spanish Civil War when many other nations rejected such a direct intervention, and of the Italian Federation near constant harassment and interference with the RSI’s activities. Had the RSI done anything of that sort of interference with the Federation? It was clear the Federation was the aggressor that presented a threat to the RSI’s independence, as the majority of the papers went.

Germany and Austria presented threats after threats regarding the war but did not follow through on intervening in it due to their collective attention being occupied elsewhere. Germany was dealing with solidifying its position in the eastern states as the Russian Empire began to emerge from its long period of chaos and isolation from foreign affairs. Russia’s first moves into solidifying its former power was encouraging the secession of Russian-speaking parts of Alash Orda into the Empire and the shift of allegiance of the Don Kuban Union to the Tsar.

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With the possibility of the Russian throne once again turning its attention to its former holdings in Eastern Europe, the German Empire began diplomatic missions to the governments of Eastern Europe that had in some form or another owed their existence to Berlin. It reaffirmed ties with the Ukrainian monarchy in particular and cemented Poland’s position in the Mitteleuropan military agreement after the Polish government decided to crown a German as King of Poland, Frederick Christian of the House of Wettin.

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Austria was still eyeing developments in Croatia, which it had turned a blind eye to as the Hungarians began to assert their claims on Croatian lands. Croatia’s resistance against Hungary ended on August 23rd when Hungarian forces occupied Zagreb and incorporated the entirety of Croatia into Hungary. Austria meanwhile solidified its direct annexation of Bosnia, which the Hungarians had accepted in exchange for its annexation of lands in Croatia.

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The situation in the Balkans however had not improved much, and thus occupied the attention of both Germany and Austria as Bulgaria was an important partner in the Mitteleuropan plans in the Balkan region. Iron Guard Romania made inroads into northern parts of Bulgaria while Serbia occupied some northwestern fringes of Bulgaria. Fighting three enemies at once- Serbia, Greece, and Iron Guard Romania- was straining Bulgaria and it was only with aid from Germany that it was able to withstand collapse this long.

In the Far East, Germany’s intervention in the Japanese invasion of the Qing Empire managed to prevent a total disaster for the Imperial Army, but were not able to reinforce the Beijing garrison quickly enough, resulting in that city’s fall to Japanese forces. Even the German-held city of Qingdao was occupied by the Japanese and the colonial capital of Saigon only narrowly withheld a naval invasion of the Vietnam colony.

The German Empire held a high value to the markets and resources of the east, particularly due to its current economic woes, and would not let the Japanese encroach on those imperial holdings without a fight.

Still, time was of the essence. The longer the war dragged on the more likely an intervention by Mitteleuropa would become a reality. With directives from Berneri, Balbo increased the attacks on Rome hoping for the fall of that city by sometime in September.

The conditions were all there for a successful end to the siege- the major ports of the Federation were now under the control of the Commune of France, and its transportation lines were already stretched to the limit due to aerial attacks on those routes.

On September 9th, the RSI forces broke through the first line of defenses around Rome, occupying most of the Lazio region and surrounding Rome. Attacks were now able to hone in much more accurately on the emplacements of the Federation forces within Rome, and insertions of Guards infantry now made their way into the streets of Rome. By September 12th it was possible to see the flag of the Republic raised over buildings of Rome from the confines of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The end was now just a matter of time. Already it was reported that some members of the nobility and other elites were beginning to flee to the few ports open, opting for destinations in South America, while others made their way to the border of the Austrian empire and fled to Venice.

Like their predecessors nearly 67 years ago, the decision was made to send the Pope an offer of safety for the Vatican in exchange for the surrender of Rome. The following is an excerpt from Luigi Longo’s memoirs recounting the event:

except from Luigi Longo's memoirs said:
I was put in a car along with some high-level dignitaries from the office of Comrade Nenni and driven towards the direction of the basilica. As we approached a checkpoint manned by Federation soldiers, we were joined by an old middle-aged officer, probably a captain. Finding the silence defeating, I broke the ice first:

“What is your name?”

The man looked back at me, and trying to hold back some emotion- hateful, no doubt, replied:

“Captain Raffaele Cadorna Junior.”

I could tell everyone from our delegation looked up to see him. For the benefit of those who were not familiar, I continued:

“As in the family of the Count Cadorna?”

“The same”

It was odd chance that we would be here with the descendent of the Count Cadorna, the man who led the Italian forces in capturing Rome back in the first Risorgimento. Seeing our expressions the captain continued:

“It can be safely said that I have the unique experience of being on both ends of the Risorgimento. My grandfather was the one capturing Rome in his day- and here I am defending it. I can now understand the pains of those who had to surrender the Papal States to Sardinia all those years ago“

The rest of our trip continued in an awkward silence. Reaching the basilica we were rushed in to the offices of the Pope, where the detachment from the Foreign Affairs Commissariat presented him a letter from Nenni.

We could not be prepared for this experience. Many of us were born into communities where the Pope was held in high regard, and here we were treating him like any other foreign dignitary. We could see Julius IV’s eyebrows furl as he read the letter, and seemingly before even finishing it he threw the letter angrily to the ground and shouted at us:

“You dare come in and treat the Vatican in such a manner? Why should we accept anything from you? If anything you should accept our demands- leave Rome now! Fine loyalty! You are all a set of vipers, of whited sepulchres, and wanting in faith! Your damned ilk shall never control Rome!”

In our ride back, Cadorna sighed and stated:

“You must excuse the Holy Father’s outbreak, but you must understand from his viewpoint he feels betrayed by the Austrians. But I suppose we all expected this considering his refusal to appoint Josef Ferdinand the King of Italy. How would you feel if the Commune of France refused to help you if you would not put a candidate they wanted in a position of power? He didn't want us to be dominated by the Austrians, any more than you did.”

With the refusal to surrender Rome, the RSI assault increased its progress into Rome. By September 15th, the last of the garrison either surrendered or fled from the city.

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The RSI found itself welcomed by some, but received with despair and anger by others as its forces marched triumphantly down the main avenues of Rome. The seizure of St. Peter’s Basilica was a markedly emotional affair as some of the populace attempted to prevent the entrance of the forces into the plaza.

The Church was again a pressing issue. What to do with the Vatican and the entire Catholic establishment? The positive feelings of unification would certainly be hampered if the Church question was not settled favorably.

So it was a convenient turn of events for the RSI when they found that neither the Pope nor his entourage was anywhere to be found in the basilica. Where did he flee to? Was he still in Italy or fleeing with the rest of the elites of that country?

Whatever the case, the few clergy remaining in the Vatican nervously made the announcement to the throng of people gathered in the square that the Pope had decided to flee the Vatican rather than become a “prisoner” of the RSI as his predecessors were under the Kingdom of Italy. They told the people to not resist the RSI as it began to roll northwards to link up with French forces.

On September 17th in the city of Livorno, the interim government of the Italian Federation met with delegates of the Commune of France and the Socialist Republic of Italy to discuss the terms of surrender. The Federation, with the loss of Rome, Turin, Genoa, and Milan, was more or less broken and a continued fight would only result in total annihilation. The interim government was represented by Duke Josef Ferdinand of Tuscany, the commander of the Federation military, who placed simple demands to the Syndintern- safe passage for members of the nobility, the Vatican, and officers out of the Federation in exchange for the surrender of the Federation to the RSI. Nenni accepted the offer and on the same day, the Federation was annexed into the Republic.

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The following day the Duke of Tuscany and other nobles fled to Austria and other destinations. Federation soldiers fighting in Spain reportedly were not aware that their nation ceased to exist until a full week after the annexation. Many of those then merged into the Carlist ranks, even though they desired to return to Italy- they feared that they would not be treated well by Syndicalist forces if they surrendered.

As per the protocols signed between Nenni and the Commune of France during the Congress of 1936, the territories France lost after WW I were transferred back to the Commune of France. The Italian peninsula was now unified and now only Venice lay beyond their grasp- it was almost identical to the situation of the peninsula after the first Risorgimento.

However a daunting task now lay ahead to reorganize the peninsula, and integrate it within the syndicalist framework set up by the Republic. With the French forces now withdrawing to increase their push within Spain, the Italians were left alone to handle affairs.

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Italy after the end of the Italian Federation

What happened in the following two months is still a matter of debate and hotly contended. What is known is that much of the lower nobility and clergy that were not able to escape fiercely resisted the efforts by the Republic to “eradicate Capitalism” and encourage “workers’ control” in the factories and redistributing the land plots of the nobility in the country side to the peasants. Essentially a cultural struggle broke out between the remnants of the Federation and the encroaching influence of Naples as they attempted to resist the Federation’s integration into the Republic. Titles of nobility were formally abolished as were deeds and titles on large plots of farm land and factories, which were given to the workers they employed. The banking system was centralized and brought into the network that existed in Naples until it could be sufficiently be dealt with, and more or less the “gross displays” were forbidden. The special benefits the Church enjoyed in the Federation were revoked as they were brought in line with religious policy in the Republic. The “white unions” were shut down and their members made to join the formerly repressed “red” unions.

As Gramsci had alluded to in his speech on Anzio, the state was now gone but the “civil society” that had projected that state remained and would resist efforts in changing the system that privileged the elite in its borders.

What Gramsci also alluded to was that Anzio was a prototype and experiment in what the Republic would do in integrating the Federation at some point in the future. The lessons from Anzio were applied in the Federation as Naples sent up cadres to assert the “Proletarian” order over the lands of the Federation. Violence broke out between peasants and their former overlords, among the so-called “faithful” and the supporters of the Republic, and during the confusion some officials of the republic reportedly took the occasion to reap revenge on certain “reformists” who stayed in the North after the revolution [3]. “A Revolution isn’t a Tea Party” remarked Berneri when asked about the conduct of some of his soldiers on the field.

It was only by early November that the Republic felt confident of its “gains” in northern Italy, and on November 8th Togliatti announced to the peoples of the “New Italy” that the Second Risorgimento was complete.

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Plans were made to shift the capitol of the RSI from Naples to Rome where it would have a strong signal to the world at large that Socialism was carrying the Torch of the Mediterranean now. The RSI had gone from a backwater nation to a regional power- and with that new position came new responsibilities and challenges
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[1] Italo Balbo was a member of the military and a veteran of the Great War. He joined up with Mussolini’s “March to the South” during the Revolution of 1920-1921 and later affiliated himself with the National-Syndicalist platform. He was technically an aviator, though the Republic’s lack of a strong air force meant that the air force was subordinate to the army and thus his chances as a high ranking officer were better on the ground.

[2]As mentioned in a previous chapter ”White Unions” referred to unions set up by the Federation to counter the influence of “Red Unions”, or those advancing radical socialist thought.

[3] The history of the Italian Socialist movement was often a fractious and divided one. In particular the Italian Socialist Party had a number of splits and divisions over party direction, Marxism, and Syndicalism. A prominent expulsion occurred in 1905 when “reformists” led by Ivanhoe Bonomi were accused of opportunism due to their support of the Libyan war. While Bonomi escaped death he was attacked by random street “thugs”, which he claimed were assassins sent by Naples. Other reformists were not as fortunate though and were found dead by the Republican Guard across the north.

Note:

The events of the “Second Risorgimento” overshadowed two major events within the Republic- deaths of prominent personalities in the Republic. The first, dying only days before the outbreak of hostilities in July, was Guglielmo Marconi.

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Marconi was one of the RSI’s prized scientists, having been known internationally for his role in the early years of the telegram and radio. Marconi had later affiliated himself to Mussolini and his National-Syndicalists, and as such that group took the responsibilities of his funeral in November.

Another death occurred in the aftermath of the internal revolution on November 23rd when Michele Bianchi, a prominent member of the National-Syndicalist platform, passed away. His death was a notable blow for Mussolini, having lost a man who was recognized as a revolutionary and powerful theorist in his own right.

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One small note. It will no longer be so easy to conquer Italian Federation as Commune of France/Socialist Italy since German Empire will be given chance to warn syndicalist to either turn back ( and sign white peace with Italian Federation ) or face German arms....
 
One small note. It will no longer be so easy to conquer Italian Federation as Commune of France/Socialist Italy since German Empire will be given chance to warn syndicalist to either turn back ( and sign white peace with Italian Federation ) or face German arms....

Which would be much better and more realistic...but nice update again :)

Tim
 
As the first two commenters said it isn't this "easy" to beat the Italian Federation on account of the independence guarantees, and as coorta said there will be things on both ends of the border to prevent a quick run over. I had to take some liberties with this for the purpose of pacing so that I wouldn't have 10 things happening at once.

Shynka, yes, those events are already in the KR mod. I only added meat to them- most of which I based on event descriptions or entries on kaiserpedia. As far as detail goes KR is up there.

And good to see MarkusH and Kurfüst join the ride.

As for the next update, I'm working on it right now though it won't be based so much in game. With the Risorgimento achieved, the population has swelled along with the political structures, and revolutionaries on either end of the border are now unified again. This would lend itself to possible changes in the political structure.